Substack newsletterFacing a labour crunch that would affect housing construction and transit infrastructure, Ontario has amended a program aimed at secondary school students, the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program.on a full-time apprenticeship
But the province’s housing crisis has been a long time coming – decades in the making, in fact, as federal, provincial and municipal governments failed on the file repeatedly. The problem isn’t going to be solved overnight, nor will it be solved by a full-time skilled trades program alone. Ontario Labour Minister David Piccini says “we need more young people to know university isn’t the only path to success in life.” He’s right about that. Students ought to be able to chart a course of their choosing, and a skilled trades job path and career ought to be respected as much as a university path. Ontario cannot function without skilled trades workers, and those who make the province run deserve recognition, respect and safe, stable, well-paying jobs.